Lives of Holy Orthodox Men & Women (37)

Elder Hadji-Georgis (1809–1886) was one of the greatest Elders of Mount Athos during the nineteenth century, and it is fitting that this biography of him was written by one of the greatest Athonite Elders of the twentieth century, Elder Paisios. "When I first came to the Holy Mountain," Elder Paisios writes, "I would hear everyone talking with great reverence and admiration about Hadji-Georgis! The many things I heard about him prompted me to revere him even more.… `A great ascetic and strict faster,` they would say. His name is even used as an epithet for those who are strict fasters: `He is a Hadji-Georgis,` they would say."

Elder Iakovos belongs to a special group of contemporary charismatic Elders (Paisios and Porphyrios, Fr. Dimitri Gagastathis and others) who were responsible for a resurgence of faith among those who knew them personally. In the conscience of the people, these Elders are living proof that the Orthodox Church is alive and continues to produce Saints. The author of this book, Professor Stylianos Papadopoulos, was blessed to be among those who knew Elder Iakovos. In reading these vivid, lively stories we are moved deeply to glorify God Who in this age of falsehood and agnosticism raised such holy figures among us. Presented in a revised translation, the life of Blessed Elder Iakovos is offered in a new edition by Orthodox Witness to English speaking readers. From this text, we trust that all will draw strength and courage in their spiritual journey.

Surrounded by the tranquil Mediterranean countryside of the Holy Mountain, the ascetics of Mount Athos struggle in "unseen warfare" to achieve a state of inner silence and purity. The only monastic republic in the world, Mount Athos has been inhabited solely by monks for more than a thousand years, setting the tone of Orthodox Christian spirituality worldwide and producing a continuous stream of saints.

Surrounded by the tranquil Mediterranean countryside of the Holy Mountain, the ascetics of Mount Athos struggle in "unseen warfare" to achieve a state of inner silence and purity. The only monastic republic in the world, Mount Athos has been inhabited solely by monks for more than a thousand years, setting the tone of Orthodox Christian spirituality worldwide and producing a continuous stream of saints.

The stories of Father Arseny and his work in the Soviet prison camps have
captured the minds and hearts of readers all over the world. In this second
volume readers will find additional narratives about Father Arseny newly translated
from the most recent Russian edition.

In every generation there are those few exceptional souls who rise out of the conventionality of social life to become pathfinders to the catholicity and otherworldliness of Christianity. Heroic and uncompromising, they imitate Abraham and become exiles and martyrs for Christ, following Him with loving exactness and mountain-moving faith. They "hate their life in this world" in order to keep it—and that of their neighbor`s—for eternity; and to successive generations they become models to imitate, witnessing, long after their departure, to the honour the Father bestows on those who serve Him.